Well The Crazy Woman Finally Got Out From Under Her Rock

 After the first five years of living here I do believe we are polishing off a "regular" weather year. The winter garden was not even close to the winter one of 2024. Dismal comes to mind, sad also and down right embarrassing. 

2025 had a rainy and occasional snow in the winter. The Spring was a picture perfect one with a lot of birds singing, mild temperatures  and an amazing harvest. Summer was green, not a wildfire in our area and lovely temperatures with only a few days of hot here and there. Now Autumn just what it should  be mornings in the low 40's and multiple 30's and almost gave us the first frost but not yet. 

The chickens just got done with every one having the best molt in years. I am very excited hoping to see the laying to commence finally. The 14 eggs under three layers two with 8 eggs and one with 2 eggs. The first two layers hatched out 6 each one in June and one in July. First clutch gave 2 pullets 4 cockerels. The next gave up 2 cockerels and 4 which is still questionable. Lastly number 3 layer broke one egg and after about a week I tested and had a bad egg. This layer was so determined I grabbed two eggs and finally about a week ago she popped out two . She kept pushing the one out and the next day it was dead but she had a cute single who she adores. 

So now with Autumn and the standard time comes about I still need to plant my garlic which I didn't plant last year. Plus Sprouts, cabbage and  broccoli that is purple. Should all be in by mid of next week. As we are getting some generous rain about every other week. 

Storm my almost three year old Great Pyrenees is well over 125 pounds. He is a great Livestock Guardian Dog. He towers over me when he is on his hind legs but a gentle love. Yarrow is over 13 years now and aging in front of my eyes. She walks slower, sleeps more and still eats a hearty amount but the end to the journey is coming closer . More good ones than bad but she has exceeded the age for females to pass so we will take what we can. Callie the BC / Australian Shepherd is four months behind Yarrow. Aging along without illness just aging. All the cats Dude, Esmeralda, Miss.Kitty, BB Boy are in the prime of their lives. The goats are down to four . Libbie is 14, Nutmeg is 12, Trouble is 10 and Wilhelmina 8. Peter and Paul the Shetland wither brothers are 3 years. 

It is getting late and I am making a drive up the mountain to a sheep dairy . I get  pork from them and enjoy the sheepers and the occasional sample of the milk which is amazing. So I should get to a few other things so I can get up rested.

Winter is coming!

My friend Donna and I had a few days visit  about a month ago. Although we have both spent a lot of time in Yosemite it has been quite a while. If when you visit and come in on Hwy 140 and enter at the North entrance you are greeted by amazing rock facing that will take your breath away.

What's new buttercup? Why sheep my friends. I can now add Shepherdess to my other hats. Although these are not my first sheep but a start to a small spinner's flock. Peter and Paul are Shetland withers about 18 months old.  A friend and I brought them home about two weeks ago so they are still in the "getting to know you" stage. Both are friendly but Peter on the left makes it easier to bribe . Paul is coming around nicely. The end goal is they will be in the barn before winter with the goats and dogs with access to the acre pasture. More sheep to be added next year. 

BBboy is the last kitten added to our family via the hay barn at about 4 weeks. He has grown into a

 handsome cat. Short but sweet for now. Still impossible to add photos from my iPhone to my blog without going back and forth to place them correctly. Suggestions welcome as always.

May We As A Country Be The Change We Want To See

   

 

       

 

 

          

                  

Autumn is coming !

 

All the quirky weather we have had in the last several years shows no signs of stopping. To date we really had a very mild summer and no one will hear me complain. Autumn is showing itself in the casting of longer shadows , cooler mornings and not the traditional periodic heat waves that are typical of July and August . I must admit I am still trying to get over being stuck in daylight stupid time without even a by your leave by the government of our county. It must be nice to play God. Thank you I feel much better but my clocks are  and will be set on "standard" time forever. I just do the math if needed.  

I had the delivery of 58 bales of alfalfa the winter hay for the goats. Last year I was able to stretch the same number of bales at about 125 pounds each last for October through June  and expect the same effect this year. Of course the big thrill was the price was down to $18 a bale. These are the coffee table rectangle bales. Nice to shave a bit off the price to go to other items. Such as fire wood. As some of you know, heat  with a wood stove. After eight years of having 42 acres for our wood needs it seems strange to have to purchase wood . But it was my choice to buy my wood and not pay PGE for it and the propane delivery. As I was only two years into  a new stove much more effective than the older one I loved but was very old and large in the cabin from the last owner.  All in all despite our crazy wet, snowy very cold winter I burnt only about 3 cords total. I have a bit of pine left over and will buy 2 cords of oak and 1 cord of pine to get through this winter. I also have the remains of the oak trees that died this winter to the amount of rain, melted snow and low temps to use also. 

    

 The present garden at the junction of the new fence is going to the right.

           

First section of the new fencing going down hill in the next photo.

Down hill run past the Blue Aptos and the drive in gate just past the left over fencing 

After the gate is the L turn that goes a bit out with a potential pen with shelter.

This is the current garden . My Black mission fig is happy in its home . Has a dozen figs developing on it . This is its third year and for a Mediterranean loving tree I am amazed it made it through the winter!

The garden is plugging along. It is by no means a huge amount in fact not enough for even canning. But it was started three times due to two false starts when winter decided to hang around and now yes, the cooler temps this summer. The great news is I got my fencing guy to fence off an L shape and hope for a relocation for the garden this coming year. I will keep some of the existing raised beds in the original garden such as my first year asparagus where they are. Redesign it for all creatures veggie wise that do well in not needing full sun and more herbs. I am thinking about putting down the ground cover of a variety that can be walked on but doesn't require constant watering and no mowing. Also able to withstand walking on. There are several types just have to decide.  

The barn still needs to have some weather proofing on the SW end. The way our storms come in I need to have two more barn doors larger but the same design as the one I had put in on the tact room entry which also gives access to all four stalls.  Since the previous owners had both of the ends open when the winter winds hit from the SW it blows right through the front stalls and out the backs of the back two stalls. I have finally decided that since they had horses and only lived here for 13 years before myself that the was a period when the state was in drought and the weather much tamer in the winter and much hotter in the summer. Other than that I would like to think they would have protected their horses from the 65 MPH winds we now get.

The above photo shows the sliding barn door I hope to add for the SW end of the barn giving an easy slide to cover the end keeping the weather out of the barn this winter.

So you think it is all fun, games and naps on a farm?

 This is the morning after. Dude now 3 years chose to stay out last night and party with Esmeralda and Isabella the barn cats. He came in about 5:30 AM had a bite in the pantry and proceeded  to crash. When last seen around noon snoozing.

              

                                       All the while BBBoy chose to cozy  up   to his cactus . 

  

                                Miss Kitty not to be out done took a power nap on the front porch.

       Your guess is  as good as mine . If the pup in front is Cirrus aka Bug then the paw behind him is                                 Storm. Both are enjoying a nice mid morning nap in the SE stall by the water trough.    \           

       

                                  

                                     You won’t catch me snoozing! Someone around this place                                                  someone has to cook, clean and stack hay. 

So Much Has Changed Here

 

This is what happens when you don’t blog in almost a year, except for blurbs here and there. When Sherman crossed the Bridge it left a hole for two and four paw creatures. I was determined not to make a quick decision and it was almost September with a lot of seasonal items to fill the coming months. Please remember this is the woman who said I don't want a puppy. However when I got an email from my friend and whose family have raised Great Pyrenees for at least 60 years asking if I knew of anyone who wanted a working pup all that went into the dish water. I got both Spinner and Sherman from Angie . I still had Sherman's bonded partner Yarrow at the age of eleven she was looking at retirement in the face or at least slowing down. "Well what are the lines?" Angie began to rattle off  a pedigree that had some very familiar names. This litter had Sherman's litter in the background. I hesitated to get a single puppy as Yarrow expected life span is 3 years , possibly 4 years tops. If I only got one then in a few years I would be looking for a buddy that one who was bonded to Yarrow. Deep breath knowing there was an outside possibility the pup could out-live me. I am not planning on it but I like to cover all bases when it comes to my critters . I feel it is the responsible thing to do . Another deep breath " Angie would you let me take two males?" So here I am going from no puppies to two. Apparently I had lost my mind. Well of course she would and that is a wonderful idea. So the contract was ironed out I would neuter them as I had no interest in breeding and as Angie has done for so many years she agreed to take the boys back if for any reason I could no longer care for them. They are AKC  and have fancy names  but their call names are Storm and Cirrus as the litter was whelped in a January snow storm . Therefore the litters theme was winter weather. I picked them up at 3 months and they are now almost 7 months. They are typical teenage male Pyrenees full of this and that . Know a laundry list of commands and expectations. They are geniuses one day and the next day I toss out a command and they look at each other as if  they are thinking "do you know what she wants? I have no clue oh well!" More photos will crop up including previous ones at younger stages

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And here they are more recently having a good chew in front of the new barn door that I had installed the Spring. And I’m going to let this go for right now and I will be back. I know you’ve heard those words before there were a lot of events this year. A lot of incredible things a lot of amazing things and I think I’m going to walk backwards in time and share them with you but for now welcome to my world Great Pyrenees Central. 💕

Time For Autumn!

Look what we got!  Over 1 inch of rain in 24 hours. What a treat it was and we benefited from lower temperatures  created by a late summer heat wave. My garden went nuts. As you may know for us to get rain from June to October is not considered normal. But I had just about a month earlier put in the front runners of my Fall/Winter garden. The broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage thought they went to heaven. The tomatoes knew they had gone to the arctic circle and were none too happy about the highs in the 50's and low 60's. With lows in the high 40's and low 50's had them calling room service for an extra blanket.

 

  I milked Nutmeg until her big boys weaned and with all the summer activities and the one woman show around the farm I let it go . She is 9 years old and wasn't producing as much so I simply dried her off at that point. Not before I got in several cheeses and some soap made. This coming November I am hoping to catch Little Trouble and daughter Willa in heat and will breed them to Sundance Kid aka Buddy. Both he and Longfellow just came into rut and not as strong as past years. Longfellow will be 14 in the Spring and Buddy will be 12. I am pleased but surprised the Longfellow is still with us. I am hoping for a couple of doe kids. 

Presenting my new arrangement for Autumn. The vase is my mother - in - laws and I always loved it. I think she would approve. 

This photo was taken on the first day of the Oak fire here in Mariposa county. It is from my front porch. I am always amazed at the beauty in fire as well as the destruction. I have been through  the last fifteen years almost as many major wildfires. How I have been so fortunate to never have had to evacuate nor lost anything or anyone to them I don't know. However this year the fires were sat on just as quickly as they began. This fire burned almost 20,000 acres and destroyed over 100 homes. 

The last of a tradition. The fellow on the left is my son and the young lady on his right is his youngest daughter. You may have seen her in another post as she spent a lot of time with me during the pandemic. The two girls (her older sister) their Dad and Aunt (my daughter) all have letter jackets from the same high school. Dad for basketball and tennis Valley Champions that year! His sister for band.Daughter #2 for Cheer and  her sister for Cheer.

The Dude is two years old and still find this knucklehead sleeping in the strangest positions in the oddest places. 

Everyone who has hung in with me over the last many years knows these two. The little one is Callie who is now 10 years old and much larger. Her buddy behind her is Sherman who adored her then and as recently as this September. Sherman was a crowd favorite he was a clown and a people Pyrenees. Sherman was one half of a bonded pair who kept watch on their goats and more. Sherman always made me laugh each and every day. Sadly he crossed the bridge a month ago and left a hole as big as Texas in my heart. 

It Is A Garden Finally 🎉

 After too many reruns of winter and two days of spring then two days of summer. Finally we have a rhythmic pattern that agrees with the plants and me . Welcome to a photo tour if the 2022  garden at Walnetto Farm. 

Forgive the poor editing . Still putting post together with iPhone and Chromebook neither wants to communicate with the other. Also  Bush beans, strawberries, tomatoes , cucumbers , eggplant and more!

Two Weeks Old

 

The first kids in three years and the first born 

on the new homestead. They 

are both vigorous young bucks. Born first day 

of Spring at mid morning.After a week of mid 

night checks.  They are sired by Longfellow my handsome home grown buck who appraised excellent by ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) as a three year old 

and retained that placement to now as a 13 year old. 

Have yet to decide what to do with them. I may keep them intact or castrate one and keep the other as a buck. The difficult part of having well bred genetic’s is it makes those decisions more difficult. Longfellow really stamps his offspring with his traits and excellent temperament.

No names yet as I am calling them Thing One and Thing Two. Dam Nutmeg is also a lovely doe and at 9 years has held up well. Looking forward to milk , cheese and soap. 

First fermentation in years. Sauerkraut from a very small cabbage. But has turned out well and I will make a point of  adding cabbage to the new raised bed. 

Emily grand girl  #3 gifted me with the chicken planter at Christmas. I took advantage and added a Spider plant cutting from Jessica who is a great friend and pretty much family.

Have spent some time on trying to perfect 

my sourdough. It is coming along. 

We have had mild Spring weather mixed with some cooler days with rain. The photo below

Is looking down the drive with the shop to the left.

Love the rainbow no filters used. 

From the front porch with the street beyond. 

Again no filters just nature showing off how beautiful the central Sierra Nevada range can be.  

Trust you enjoy the catch up. Again I will pop in when there is news and life permits. Have a wonderfilled day!

IF A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ARE SEVEN WORTH SEVEN THOUSAND?

   

                        Sometimes photos give a false image because how the mind sees it. 

                          Yarrow at first glance has an awfully long tail? Enlarge the photo and

                               take a better look. But between the length of her tail and she is holding 

                        her paws very close together it may appear longer than it really is.

Trouble is a sweet doe and on first look because the large appearance

 of her head and that she is standing with her left shoulder to the 

back opps! Where is the rest of her left side?

                                         

Dude is exactly what he appears to be. A ginger cat chilling at the cats favorite 

gopher hunting grounds. He is maybe not as close to the hay covered by tarps 

as you would think.

Say "hello" to Nutmeg . Nutty is a nine year old doe  She appears larger on 

her right side than her left. Opps again. She is larger on the left as she 

is facing us . Our mind tends to want us to believe that it is right , right? 

Or maybe it is our right? 

Having your right side almost as large as your left gives us the illusion

that her rumen may be larger than normal. Should we be worrying about 

her since she is fussing over it and licking. MMMMM could be a sign of pain

and bloat???!

Well now that is better or is it? If a goat indeed carries her rumen on 

her left what could possibly be going on to make her look symmetrical??

 This is Mama Cat. She is both Dude and Esmeralda's mother. 

Mama cat as you can see is a very limited view of life under the 

milk stand. She is reminding us that things aren't always how

we see them or interpret it. Mama says think outside of the box.

Could a rumen full of frothy bloat push so hard that the other 

organs are being moved into the the right? Not likely because 

if it was we would have a doe in a world of hurt  and most likely

a down doe also. The more likely cause is a happy ending. The rumen

is more pronounced because, drum roll please. Walnetto Farm is delighted to 

invite you to join us mid March for the first kids to be born on the 

new homestead.  And thanks for wadding through my extreme goofy kid 

announcement. 💗

The Last Week Of July Was A Weird One Maybe We Are In A New Normal?

The week was pretty good up to Tuesday when it got way too busy . Something every day until today and I was just feeling "ADR" as Dr. D my long time mobile goat and what ever else you got vet would say. For those who are scratching their head that would be "ain't doing right." I kept plugging away as the weather would be fairly decent mid nineties with lows in the high sixties. 

In addition to the once a day leave home for how ever long it took to get it done. Little stuff like picking up the repaired stock trailer to hoisting Sherman into the truck for a visit to the vet. Tuesday night at about 5:00 PM PDT an alert was issued for high winds, potential flooding and thunder storms for 48 hours. I had known I had a large hole in the hay tarp and figuring we don't get wet weather of any kind in the summer I back burner that nasty, dusty chore as far out as I could. Hay  Hey it is hot dealing even with tarps with  holes. So as I watched the thunder heads gather I am balancing on ladder in the wind trying to make the proper adjustments between gust and then applying the new bandaid tarp around the largest holes. All the time for hour and one half thinking stinking thoughts not of gratitude to the NOAA for not sending an alert out earlier. Finally got everything done and back in house while adjusting my cranky attitude and switching my intent to gratitude that even if it doesn't materialize that I won't be up at two in the morning climbing around in the dark because it sneaked up on us.

So how did that work? Dry. Even with another weather alert issued again we never got a drop . It apparently decided it liked the high country better and stayed in place with the bulk of it in Yosemite Park and elevations above that. 

Once in awhile good intentions and plans do come together. This is one of those. Ya'll have listened to me whine and wiggle about jump starting my weaving. Getting back to that part of my life enabled me to go to a place that detoxed me. That took me on vacation without leaving home. Kind of like those middle of the night kidding's in the barn. I got started and stopped on the restart. Or sometimes I just had to vocalize it I guess to not let myself forget that once upon a time this fiber life fed a place in me through spinning, weaving , knitting and dying fiber that everything else in my life no matter how cathartic to my soul didn't touch. I finally decided to accomplish that goal was to buy myself a present. I bought a 36 inch rigid heddle Ashford floor loom. Technically a table loom but I purchased the floor stand so I could be more comfortable when seated in front of hit. So with this goal now in sight I found the best fiber with glitter and bling to jump start the project. The best part of this project is there was none. I just sat and spun daily until I had a pound of two ply  yarn done and figured that the project would revile itself in my minds eye eventually. 

                               

I will happily share the project now but not the recipient as I don't want the cat out of the bag. On the loom is a scarf/shawl . It will be when finished approximately 55 inches long and 14 inches wide. In addition a twisted fringe in the warp yarn will be added to each end. Which will add about 7 inches to the length on  each end.

 

Let us cover as much territory as we can in this post. After all one never knows when I will become derailed by something that sparkles. Isn't he/she lovely? This is the year of the tomato worm apparently. I had none, nada , no last year. This year they are becoming plentiful. Bless their little squishy hearts. But I have to admit they are lovely. That is what the chickens said as I toss them over the fence to them. 

Ah chickens that is the word. Another reveal in my world. My friend and I are going partners in the very first batch of meat birds on Walnetto Farm ever. Now the reason for that is I always knew someone who raised their own meat birds and would be happy to sell off extras to friends. So I couldn't see the logic in adding one more chore to my list. But I have bottomed out at the new location. Lots of folks doing it but not sharing. So my friend Jessica who I have known since she was two and her hubby are going in halves with me both in labor and $$. We will get 25 Cornish Boilers on October 14th and the grow is on. We will not be processing yet. Since this was a last minute act of insanity we choose to go with a processor who is available to us at decent rate and drop off in the morning pick up the next day. If all goes well we should be set up for processing the next batch in the Spring.

There are a couple of other potential items not quite to the reveal stage. I feel it best to QT these items just in case something changes in plans. So that gives you something to look forward to in the Fall. 

Cracker Jack and the pullets

Miss. Kitty and the Gopher

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